Participatory Budgeting Vote Week is Coming Up!

Participatory Budgeting is back for its fifth year with a new set of proposals! This NYC Council initiative encourages its members to set aside a portion of their budget dedicated to funding proposals that are created, and voted on, by their constituents. Our representative Brad Lander was among the first four Council Members to bring this innovative process of community engagement to New York, and this year he will be joined by 27 of his peers.

Council Member Lander's office accepted proposals for PB capital projects through the fall. Since then, volunteer budget delegates have refined the proposals and had vetted them with the relevant city agencies. The 13 projects below will appear on the 2016 District 39 PB ballot, competing for $1.5 million in funds that CM Lander dedicated to the process. Any District 39 resident 14 years or older may vote for up to 5 proposals. Participants do not have to be a registered voters, they must only show proof of address.

• Create New Teen Space at Carroll Gardens Library
• Beautify Outdoor Space at Borough Park Library
• "Mobile Studios" for Artists and Orgs in Gowanus
• Retrofit 75 Auditorium Lights for Safety at PS 282
• PS 124 Dye Garden/Makerspace STEAM Enrichments 
• West Brooklyn Community HS Portable Laptop Lab
• New “Lake Mess Monster,” an aquatic weed harvester
• Year-round, freeze-resistant drinking fountains along Prospect Park Drive
• New Kensington Dog Run: Areas for Big and Small Dogs
• Curb extension & safer crossing near Carroll Park
• Pedestrian safety: Curb extension on Columbia St
• Replace painted cross-hatch with concrete on PPSW
• "Bus Clocks” on B67/B69: see when bus will arrive!

To view the full ballot with price estimates and short descriptions, visit: bradlander.nyc/2016-pbnyc-ballot

Participatory Budgeting Vote Week
March 28 - April 3
See here for the full list of voting sites

PBNYC Expo & Vote Kick Off
Tuesday, March 29th, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Park Slope Library
431 6th Ave., between 8th St. and 9th St.

The Voting times at our closest locations:
Brooklyn Borough Hall
209 Joralemon St. (at Court St)
Monday, March 28 - Friday, April 1
10am - 5pm

Carroll Gardens Library
396 Clinton St at Union St
Saturday, April 2
10 am – 6 pm

If you're interested in volunteering to help get out the vote, or run a voting site, visit: http://bradlander.nyc/pbVolunteer.

Watch this video for more about PBNYC

Participatory Budgeting Returns

What is Participatory Budgeting? from PBP on Vimeo.

Participatory budgeting is back this year offering residents the opportunity to tell our City Council Members what we want done in our communities. Over the next few weeks Council Member Brad Lander's office will be holding meetings to seek capital project proposals that total $1.5 million. Twenty four of the city's representatives have opted in to allot funds to PB, now in it's fifth year. For more information see CM Brad Lander's participatory budgeting page here. The first PB workshop is next Wednesday (details below). You may also contact the Council Member's office directly.

PB Assembly at PS 118

Wednesday, September 30th

6:30-8:30 p.m.

211 8th St (near 4th Avenue), Brooklyn, NY

RSVP for the PS 118 Assembly here.

Reminder: Vote for a safer Hicks Street

Make sure you've got next week's voting times and dates on your calendar as Participatory Budgeting is right around the bend. This is your chance to decide how $1.5 million will be spent in the 39th District Council and a great way to ensure a long planned, much-needed safety improvement on Hicks Street comes to fruition.

It would continue upon past efforts in which we worked with the Councilman and Department of Transportation to install painted curb extensions on Hicks as part of a traffic calming treatment. Those changes have increased safety but are not yet permanent. We hope to see that paint turn to concrete and need your vote to make it happen.

Four Safer Intersections on Hicks Street
$300,000
Augment an existing project to make painted curb extensions permanent with concrete, at four high-crash intersections: Kane, Sackett, Union, and Summit Streets. Improve pedestrian & traffic safety.
Location: Hicks St b/w Kane & Summit Sts (Cobble Hill & Carroll Gardens)

Expo and Vote Kick-Off
Tuesday, April 14, 6:30 – 8:30 pm339 8th Street, Brooklyn, NY
Those in attendance will be able to cast their ballot at the event.

Local Voting Location

Tuesday, April 14th – Thursday, April 16

8 am – 7 pm
@ Brad Lander's District Office
456 5th Avenue, 3rd Floor, between 9th and 10th Sts

Saturday April 18
10 am – 6 pm
Carroll Gardens Library, 396 Clinton St at Union St

Sunday April 19
10 am – 6 pm
Carroll Park House, Smith St between President and Carroll Sts

Even if you are not a registered voter you can vote in the PB elections. You need either an ID, a utility bill, or some other documentation stating your address.

Councilman Brad Lander & members of the CHA stand in a painted curb extension on Hicks Street

Participatory Budgeting is Back

Local Councilman Brad Lander is kicking off his 4th year of Participatory Budgeting and wants your input. Throughout October, he and his staff will hold a series of assembly workshops to gather ideas, present proposals, and eventually vote on projects seeking $1.5 million of your tax dollars.

Vote this weekend - Participatory Budgeting

Our area's City Councilman, Brad Lander, sent out the below reminder that this is a big weekend to help decide which of many great ideas should get funding prioritization from his office.

This is the big weekend for Participatory Budgeting, and we want you to take part by voting on how $1 million of City funds will be spent in this neighborhood. Voting is Saturday and Sunday.

Vote Dates Saturday, April 6, 10 AM - 7 PM Carroll Gardens Library 396 Clinton St (at Union St) PS 230 Lower School425 McDonald Ave (between Church Ave & Albemarle Rd) Old Stone House 336 3rd St (Washington Park) Sunday, April 7, 10 AM - 5 PM Beth Jacob Day Care  1363 46th St (at 14th Ave) Kings Bay Y at Windsor Terrace 1224 Prospect Ave (at Vanderbilt St) Park Slope Armory YMCA 361 15th Street (between 7th and 8th Ave) Carroll Park House Carroll St and Smith St

Can we count on you? Pledge to vote as part of participatory budgeting.

Any district resident can vote, ages 16 and up.

There are 13 items on the ballot – read and watch videos about all of them here – covering many of the needs of our neighborhoods. You can vote on improvements for district schools, upgrades to our parks and projects to green our environment and make it easier and safer to get around the district.

We just wrapped up early voting at my office. It’s been very exciting to watch people stream in, sit down with their ballots, and consider carefully what they want to vote for.

Participatory budgeting truly is a community driven process and we are about to complete the third year. From the start, your neighbors have taken ownership of participatory budgeting, coming to brainstorming meetings, joining participatory budgeting committees, and helping spread the word about the vote. They did so much more than our office ever could have—and it is satisfying to know that the winning projects truly reflect the community's needs and interests.

Now it is your turn to get involved. Participating is important, but it's also easy and fun.

Hope to see you at the vote.

Brad

Participatory Budgeting in Cobble Hill

Streetsblog recently noted that "eight city council members have put a portion of their discretionary capital funds up for a vote as part of an exercise in participatory budgeting, which allows residents to decide how the money will be spent in their own neighborhoods." One of those councilmembers is our very own Brad Lander, who will be hosting an expo this Thursday, March 21st, where residents can learn more about the projects that have been suggested to receive some of the $1 million in discretionary capital funds he has offered up to a public vote. 

The Cobble Hill Association is very pleased that one item on the upcoming ballot will be the addition funds to an existing DOT project on Hicks Street. This will include concrete curb extensions that greatly improves visibility at the dangerous intersection with Congress Street. It is a concern brought up by locals time and time again, and we urge resident to attend the science fair-style expo to learn more details.  It takes place this Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Park Slope branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.

Actual voting dates and times are listed on Councilman Lander's Participatory Budgeting page and pasted below.

Early Voting: 
Tuesday, April 2nd – Thursday, April 4th 7:30 AM – 8 PM daily
@ Councilmember Lander’s District Office 456 5th Avenue, 3rd Floor, between 9th and 10th Street

Regular Voting: 
Saturday, April 6th
@ Carroll Gardens Library, 396 Clinton St (at Union St) 10 AM – 7 PM
@ Old Stone House, 336 3rd Street (Washington Park) 10 AM – 7 PM
@ Kings Bay Y at Windsor Terrace, 1224 Prospect Avenue (at Vanderbilt Street) 10 AM – 7 PM

Sunday, April 7th
@ Beth Jacob, 1371 46th Street (at 14th Avenue) 10 AM – 5 PM
@ PS 230 Lower School, 425 McDonald Ave (bwn Church Ave & Albemarle Rd) 10 AM – 5 PM
@ Park Slope Armory YMCA, 361 15th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenue) 10 AM – 5 PM
@ Carroll Park House, Carroll Street and Smith Street (in Carroll Park) 10 AM – 5 PM